New York Jets Star’s Comparison Shows Rookie Tackle Ready to Start

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers compared Olu Fashanu to this former Jets lineman, a high compliment for the first-round pick.

Jul 27, 2024; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets offensive tackle Olu Fashanu (74) runs up field greeting fans during training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Aaron Rodgers says he doesn’t like comparisons between players. But, the New York Jets quarterback was asked about first-round pick Olu Fashanu earlier this week, when it was clear he would start at right tackle in place of Morgan Moses.

So Rodgers obliged. The comparison he made will likely make Jets fans happy.

“From the beginning I felt like he reminded me a lot of D’Brickashaw (Ferguson),” Rodgers said to reporters during his weekly press conference.

Ferguson was a mainstay of the Jets’ offensive line for a decade, after New York selected him No. 4 overall in 2006 out of Virginia.

With the Cavaliers he was an all-American, a two-time All-ACC selection and had his No. 66 retired.

New York hasn't retired his jersey, but he played well enough with the Jets to earn a place in their Ring of Honor. He also went to three Pro Bowls and was a NFL all-rookie team member in 2006.

He was also a model of durability. He never missed a game in his entire career.

Of course, Rodgers and Ferguson never played together, as the quarterback played his entire career with the Green Bay Packers before he joined the Jets last year.

But players talk. And Ferguson had a reputation — a good one. Rodgers said just watching Ferguson from afar he could see the lineman’s personality and dedication to the game.

Those are traits he sees in Fashanu, who was selected in the first round in April out of Penn State.

“I feel like he’s been consistent every day and when he makes a mistake he doesn’t repeat it,” Rodgers said. “I think he's in a good spot.”

Fashanu feels good about his situation, too, as he said to reporters earlier this week.

While he isn’t comparing himself to Ferguson, he does share a few things in common. He was also an all-American and an all-conference selection. Plus he was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2023.

He doesn’t have Ferguson’s experience to lean on. But what he has might be a bit better. Moses has been a consistent lineman in the NFL for a decade and the Jets traded draft picks to get him away from Baltimore. At left tackle there is Tyron Smith, a long-time veteran tackle with All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods that might put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.

In that sense, Fashanu knows he has it good, no matter who he’s compared to.

“I'm in a very unique situation where I'm in a offensive line room with not only one but two great tackles and for me it was all about just getting the most out of them,” he said. “You know picking their brains, asking them as many questions as possible to help out my own development.”